Pretend
by SassyChip
Summary: Could we ever go back to where we were? Could we ever be the same? Could everything ever be the same? No. No it couldn't. But all we have to do is pretend. Pretend it can. And I'll keep you safe. Keep you safe from your monsters.
1. Chapter 1

_We can pretend everything is fine. This time, I'll be the one to protect you from the monsters._

The bell rung as the string connected to the door was pulled. Silent footsteps walked in, the door closing quietly behind. He took a little rest, placing down the various plastic bags in his hands. The boy slowly walked up the stairs of the dark little coffee shop, careful no to step on anything. Or what was left of anything. There was one little door on his left, one he knew far too well. He cringed a little as he looked at the ugly marks on the wooden surface. He wasn't suppose to be worried. But still he braced himself as he reached for the doorknob, softly turning it, hearing the creaking of the door as it opened.

It was dark. Everything was dark. The curtains were pulled down, a broken light bulb hung loosely on the tiny lamp, swing from side to side. The furniture was broken down, a chair with a missing leg. Smashed glass everywhere. He quickly placed the bags down, walking over to the corner of the room. A small figure sat by, huddled against the wall in rusty blankets. His white hair was covered in dirt and rust, he quivered a little more, sinking into his knees as he pulled them closer to his chest. He brought his hand up shakily, placing an already chewed black fingernail close to his lip. The insides of the fingernails were crusted with bits and bits of blood. The boy watched as the small figure hesitantly went over and licked the dried crimson.

"Neki don't do that." The boy whispered softly, as if speaking to a child. The figure looked up to the source of his voice. His pale dirty face contrasted against the dark room as his grey eyes tried to adjust to the darkness. The beautiful grey orbs were hinted with bits of red, his eyes puffy, the tears still lingering. He quickly looked around in fear, trying to squeeze himself further into the little corner. His empty eyes loomed over the orange haired boy.

"Hide." His voice cracked. It was barely over a whisper, his hoarse throat speaking after such a long time. He shook a little more, trying to grab an edge of a dust covered blanket, pulling over his small frame. Hide walked over to him slowly, his took cautious steps.

"Neki I'm here, it's me, don't worry." Hide tried to coax the boy. He watched silently at the widening eyes, slowly filling with wet liquid.

"Hide." The boy cried out. His tears began to drip down freely again. His chest heaved as he tried to gasp for air. Hide was by his side immideatly, pulling him into a small embrace, ignoring the tensed body quivering under him. "Hide she's here again!" The boy screamed out, thrashing wildly under Hide.

"Neki breathe, breathe with me." Hide coaxed calmly, though he too was scared.

"No Hide, she came, she was right next to me. She covered my eyes, I couldn't see!" The boy cried out, his breath hitching over and over again as he tried not to break down. Hide silently patted his skinny back, rocking him slowly.

"Neki, I'm here now, she won't come back." The boy looked up with tearful eyes.

"She will, she did, she came back today, with _him!_ They want to kill me Hide, I know they do, she closed my eyes and I couldn't see. He took my leg and bit it! And when you leave their going to kill me again. They keep trying to kill me! They want to color the flower with my blood Hide!" He screamed over and over again.

"Kaneki, I'm here now, that's all we have to care about ok. They can't come back to you when I'm here." Hide whispered, raising his hands to hold Kaneki's face. He looked at the broken lip and leaned in. It was a soft kiss. Barely touching. But it calmed the boy down.

"It's ok Kaneki, I'll protect you." He whispered. "I'll protect you from your monsters."

So as you guys see, I think I'm planning on a more psychotic fic this time, I think it's going to be an AU but with Kaneki having disociative identity disorder you know. It's going to be a Hide x Kaneki fic so yeah... Ummmmm. Read and review! I'll probably be posting again soon.


	2. Anteiku

Disclaimer: Sui Ishida has yet to hand Hide over to me. I don't understand why, but until then it's his...

AN: Sorry about the last post, there was some document upload errors, I'm just reposting it, I think it's ok now...hopefully. If it still irks up please tell me so I can deal with it! :8

Hide sighed quietly as he looked at the skinny figure he finally managed to coax back to sleep. _I have to wash his hair,_ he thought to himself, running his hands softly through the now rather dirty white hair. What the hell happened to them.

It all started somewhere though. The place was called Anteiku. Yes, that was where everything started.

 _Flashback-_

A university student walked casually around the nearest shopping streets. I'm not stalking her, no, nothing like that, I'm simply…observing the public. A certain orange-haired young man assured himself. The word stalking is often overrated. He couldn't help the fact that he noticed her! She was pretty. Hide Nagachika wasn't just going to randomly admit the fact that he was attracted to this particular girl. Not happening.

Assuring his inner self once again that he wasn't doing anything wrong, he nonchalantly followed the mysterious girl deeper into the streets, zoning out occasionally until he approached a quaint coffee shop, namely, Anteiku.

"If you want a cup of coffee go in, if you're just going to follow me, go back to class." A cold voice snarled in front of him. He felt the heat rise in his cheeks as he looked at the girl in front of him. He could see her more clearly now that her head was turned to look at him. She placed on hand on her slim hips, obviously unimpressed. Her loose bangs covered the entirety of the right side of her face so only one deathly glare was suppressed towards the university student. Realizing the awkward tension between them, Hide stifled an embarrassing laugh and cleared his throat.

"Sure, I'll have some." He laughed again, unconsciously reaching to rub the back of his head looking away from from the glaring figure, walking in with her, glancing up at the little bell that just upon the entry.

He watched the girl walk past the counter, wondering if she was going to buy her a drink, then proceeded to have a silent argument with his inner self.

Are you crazy? Of course she's not going to buy you a drink!

You never know!

She probably works here man!

….Ah….

The conversation ended pretty quick as soon as Hide came to the realization that he followed the poor girl to work, of course she would be annoyed. Crap. What do I do now. But he didn't have enough time to come up with a cool excuse as the girl walked out of the counter, now in a white button up shirt, sleeves rolled to her elbow along with a black best and a matching skirt coming down to her lower thighs. Ok she definitely works here.

"What do you want?" She snapped in annoyance, looking down at him again. He stared at her. "What?" He mumbled dumbly, sliding further into his chair as the girl proceeded to kill him with her eyes. She had to resist the urge to strangle him before a kind tap on her shoulder stopped her from doing so. Glancing up, she sighed and waved off his hand.

"Touka-chan, how about how deal with the customer, you should go rest." The black-haired teen offered kindly. "Ok, ok, just make sure he leaves as soon as he's done with the coffee." She grumbled away, annoyed at the boy's gentleness, it was almost illegal.

Hide finally recovered the ability to breathe, looking out at the way she left. "I'm sorry, she's always like that." He turned his head to the source of the voice. It was a boy around his age, maybe slightly older by a year. His scrawny body showed the obvious lack of athletic background. Hide studied him for a while, taking in the similar dressing style as Touka, albeit with black trousers and a gray waistcoat along with a black necktie. His all too pale face contrasted against the burning sun, still smiling, wrinkling his face ever so slightly. The boy patiently waited to Hide to reply or have his order, and it was only until another awkward minute of silence did Hide manage to zone back in. He was definitely lacking sleep.

"Oh could I get a ummm… caramel latte? Extra sugar." He laughed as he placed his order, watching intently as the young boy quickly wrote it down. "So how long have you worked here?" He tried for small talk.

"Oh not so long, I think around 2 months, they were kind enough to take me in, along with the fact that I love coffee." He replied kindly, offering a gentle smile to Hide. Something about him just seemed so…fragile. Like he would just break apart like china if anything happened. Like he was putting on a show for the rest of the world.

"So is everything fine?" Hide asked again, he didn't know why he kept talking to the waiter. Probably to relieve the situation with the girl. Touka was it? The boy put his hand to his chin, his other hand holding the clipboard. He gave a slight nod. "You lying." Hide hissed evilly, watching the blush rise to his pale cheeks. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!" He stuttered suddenly. Hide burst out laughing again, receiving looks from fellow customers. "Next time don't put your hand to your chin, it's too obvious." He holds his hand out. "I'm Hide by the way, Hide Nagachika." The boy hastened to hold his hand out too. Shaking it softly before breaking away the small contact. "My name is Kaneki Ken."

Sigh, I had this 2 paragraph authors note but the document went like *poof* so yeahh... Read and review!


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